Growth and Characterization of Thin Films of Zinc Oxide and Related Materials for Application in Micatronics

Mica offers a wide variety of applications due to its superior electrical and thermal properties. This includes high dielectric strength, low heat loss, flexibility, and excellent electrical insulation. Recently, Mica has attracted tremendous attention because of its application in Micatronics, a new paradigm of flexible electronics. Numerous substrate materials, such as dielectric polymers, have been utilized in past for realizing flexible electronic devices, however, they function at low operating temperatures. There is a high demand for flexible, durable, and environmentally friendly electronic devices that can operate under ambient conditions. Micatronics fulfills these demands. In this study, we report the growth and characterization of thin films of Zinc Oxide and related materials on Mica for application in flexible Micatronic devices. Films were prepared by a pulsed laser deposition technique where a solid pellet of the constituent material was ablated by using high-power KrF excimer laser pulses. The high power of the laser pulses causes the stoichiometric ablation of the target material thereby creating a plasma plume that gets deposited on the Mica substrate. Films thus prepared were thoroughly characterized using XRD, SEM, EDX, and Raman spectroscopy.